The payments, billed as research and development (R&D) tax credits, provide tax relief for businesses to encourage them to invest more money in R&D. So far HMRC has made payments totalling £150 million.

An HMRC spokesperson said:

"This is an incredible result in one year. HMRC's R&D Units are keen to help business and innovation to grow throughout the UK. They help support small and medium sized businesses across all business sectors to make successful tax credit claims."